Abstract

This Development ViewPoint underscores the underlying importance of the economic conditions facing the new republics, such as Egypt and Tunisia, which are emerging as a result of the ‘Arab Spring’ in the Middle East and North Africa. His analysis suggests that these new republic will face difficult challenges in trying to both bring about lasting transformations in the livelihoods of ordinary citizens (based on faster growth, more jobs and greater social equity) and avoiding the burden of conditionalities likely to be linked to future external assistance and investment.